'You shouldn't have to be brave to tell the truth'

摘要

Open. Candid. Transparent. Apparently, that is what the NHS needs to be, according to Robert Francis QC's report. Health service staff need to "fess up" to making mistakes, not blame each other, learn from them and move on. Nothing should be concealed, nothing should be hidden. It sounds so easy when you say it like that doesn't it?However, it seems to be proving pretty hard to achieve in real life. Take, for example, former United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust chief executive Gary Walker's eagerly awaited appearance before the Commons' health select committee last Tuesday. The day before, Sir David Nicholson, chief executive of the NHS and formerly of the East Midlands SHA, had appeared before a different Commons' committee and denied Mr Walker had ever identified himself as a whistleblower.